


Forget Me Not.

by Zee_Seal



Category: Fantrolls Fandom, Homestuck, Homestuck Fantrolls - Fandom, Original Troll Character (Homestuck)
Genre: AU, Again this is, Blame Zerleg Risham for that the dirty fuck, F/M, Is not canon at all, This is another repost from tumblr, This is the "Confess And Book It" au, While amazing and great angst potential, non-canon timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 07:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18545536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zee_Seal/pseuds/Zee_Seal
Summary: A Lady never kisses and tells. In this case, however, kissing and running away from your problems seems to be the answer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of Drabbles from a now non-relevant AU.

The day she left still haunted them both. 

He had been walking her hive from a bit of a farewell party they had done together, to celebrate her draft. However, the conversation had turned slightly sour when Hecate had tried to thank Nataio for everything, his friendship, and how important he was to her. She simply had a lot to say, and he wasn’t letting her speak her mind, having cut her off to tell her not to thank him for doing his job.

“You do mean a lot to me, like, really important, Taio, why the hell are you so, like, against me saying it?”

“Do not be so kind, Cate, I am aware you hate me, you do not need to sugar coat your opinion-"

It was then, and there, that the only way he would get what she was trying to say, was to smack him in the face with the truth; though she regrets blurting it out so angrily. She nearly yelled it at the top of her lungs, before realizing her mistake.

“I’m flushed for you, Nataio! Don’t you get that? God why are you so DENSE!”

“Ex-Excuse me?!”

“….”

She didn’t even have to look up properly to see him slowly start to colour in the cheeks, looking awkward and unsure. 

Hah. Of course he didn’t actually like her. Why did she think this was a good idea? He wasn’t going to suddenly feel anything for her out of the blue. She was such an idiot. This was an idiot idea. Stupid stupid STUPID!

Hecate felt the knot in her stomach tighten the longer the silence lingered between them. The only sound was the soft pattering of the rain against the umbrella they were standing under. Looking up, she tries not to let him see the angry, shameful tears pricking at her eyes. Nataio is the one to speak first, finally finding his voice again.

“H-how long?” He mumbled, as he swallowed nervously, unsure of what else to ask or say, really.

“…Since…I met you…”

“Y-you are saying, you have had feelings for me, flushed ones, and never spoke of them? Never thought to say something to me? Surely you-”

“I’m sorry, Taio”

“I-I…Cate-”

Cutting him off, she steps closer, and leans up, giving him a brief and soft kiss on his jawline, before quickly backing away, turning so he wouldn’t see the tears streaming down her face. Nataio found himself reaching out to touch her shoulder, comfort her, but her next words made him pull his hand back, letting his arm fall to his side, clenching his fist till his knuckles were white. This was not how this was supposed to go!

“I’m so sorry, I should go. You’ve got more important stuff to deal with. Please stay safe.”

With that she was walking away, and out of his life. He didn’t even know if he would ever see her again. There was so much he wanted to say, follow her maybe- but before he could make a decision, she was gone. She had disappeared from his sight, while he stood in the rain, having stared at her retreating figure until she was no longer in sight.

He didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. 

Nataio cursed his foolishness. Never again would he let something like this happen. He swore by it.


	2. A Bad Influence Known as Alcohol.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Drabble relating to the "Kiss and Book it" Au.

Seeing each other again in the fleet had been awkward, on many levels, considering how they had departed on Alternia. 

Their first interactions while on board the many star-ships, and crossing paths, were brief, curt, and sometimes painful. It played havoc with both of their emotions, and their restraint. Nataio himself wished to talk to her, confront her, but…There were many things wrong with that, and his own nerves wouldn’t allow him to broach the subject, no matter how much he wanted to.

She no doubt had moved on, or resented him, either for his foolish blind youth, for his brief liaison with Raewyn Bodoir…but no, she was not a jealous girl. She had worked hard to get him to loosen his views, to “get over himself” to date the jade-blood woman, if he recalled correctly, so that was not the case. He still remembers that argument vividly, as if it was merely the other night. Her telling him how he was going to ignore how perfect Raewyn was for him because of her land-dwelling status. 

How he was “stupid” he was being for “self sabotaging” himself and a chance at true happiness. There had also been a very low blowing remark about how he had yet to find a red interest up until then, and how soon the bucket collection season was coming. That had made him really weigh his options. In the end, he had not regretted it, in the slightest, and enjoyed every moment he had made with Raewyn.

If anything, it was Nataio who still felt a bit of resentment towards Hecate for her cowardice, which kept him from touching upon the idea of them possibly being together; but in time he had grown to realize two things about the idea of them having dated on planet. Firstly, He was an absolute ass to her on Alternia far to many times for her to wish to pursue a relationship proper, and he would admit that. 

Secondly, they would have fallen apart, clashed something awful, and become heart broken should they have dated then. Simply put, they would have failed on a fantastical level. More so than her and that awful, and loud, purple blood she had found for her blackrom. (It wasn’t a failure of a quad, Nataio, you were just jealous and worried as per usual. Not that you would ever admit that.) Yet the nagging feeling persisted. He could not shake the feeling that he should at least try. He felt if he didn’t say something soon, he would go mad with every unexpressed emotion.

Cate herself yearned to say anything, anything at all to him. She had to force herself to bite her tongue on many occasions. His stern gaze and cold eyes had dissuaded her from trying, or opening up. 

No. It was a stupid idea. He hadn’t loved her then, he wouldn’t love her now, especially after how she had left him. Ran away from him and left him to figure things out on his own. She didn’t know why she kept on hoping things would be different once they were in the fleet. At this point she knew he was being polite about her admitted feelings, and enduring her company for nostalgic reasons only. He no doubt had missed their friendship after she had been drafted. 

She could bite the bullet, ignore how she felt once again, and just be happy they were slowly going back to their normal selves around each other. She would deal in silence, just as she did before. She would find some one else, so would he, because no matter what her heart said, they weren’t meant to be.That’s what she resided herself with. A very close friendship between her and the man she loved, to save herself from further heartbreak, and to keep him around as long as she could. She didn’t mind he didn’t love her, not any more at least, so she could enjoy his company, despite feeling heart broken.

So, neither of them broached it. 

It became the unspoken rule between them, a quiet misunderstanding of a rule. Soon, they fell back into the same routine they had back on planet. Any moment they had free, they seemed to be together. Inseparable, connected at the hip (not in a scandalous way! They were just friends! They swear!) Yet, they still found themselves being drawn towards the ‘what if’ of breaking that rule. 

So many times, they found that the spark they shared had not diminished with time, they had only gotten more intense from their time apart. With each moment spent together, the feelings became stronger, almost unbearable at times even. Yet they continued to deny it, for the sake of the other, mislead into believing the lies their own minds had cultivated. Everyone else around them saw it, felt it, and shook their heads at the obviousness displayed by two notable officers. Idiots, the pair of them.

Yet, this all came to a head in a single evening. The rule was broken just as quickly as it had been instated, and the walls came crashing down at a fantastic rate. Who knew that liquor could loosen lips up in such a magnificent way. Thank the Mercy above. The rest of the soldiers couldn’t handle the pair of them giving each other bedroom eyes from across the lounge room any more. It was getting on everyone's nerves.

The night of Nataio’s promotion ceremony, when it had rolled around, Hecate had gone out of her way to snag a bottle of bourbon for the occasion. (Praise be her mother for the help.) The good kind that she recalled Nataio actually liked, from their time spent together on planet. Vaguely musing to herself, Cate recalls that she never saw the boy- er, man, get drunk. He either drank in such a manner that seemed like he was keeping up, or he had a far higher tolerance than she gave him credit for. 

It was one of those things she had realized after time apart. The whole time she had been away from Nataio, Cate had spent more time thinking about her time on planet, and with him, more than she would care to admit. To many long nights going over memories, small details she had missed. If any one asked her what kept her up at day in the military, she could honestly say it had been The Second Admiral, not that she would be honest about that. Heavens no. That would ruin the (easily seen through) facade they had crafted.

Cate had met up with Taio before his whole bash, complimenting him on his new uniform, and even lightly flirting to break the tense mood that seemed to be sticking to him. It had amused her that he had actually politely flirted back with her, the same way he used to flirt with other nobles. It also hurt, slightly. Not that she showed her heart pangs. Neither did she pick up on the fact that Nataio seemed to be distracted, because of her flirting no less. 

Her casual flirtations with him had made him internal fluster, but he had learned to keep a calm face at such things. Well, as calm as he could, his eyes still showed that he was paying far to much attention to her in the mirror, rather than himself. He only looked away when she made a god awful joke about his uniform, and closed his eyes, to rub the bridge of his nose. Somethings just never changed with Hecate Owlich. 

Her being a menace to his whole being with her crude joking was one of those things that would never cease. At least not while they were still skirting around the very blatant issue at hand; their concealed emotions.

Taking the chance while his eyes were closed, Cate stored the bottle of bourbon in his quarters, before casually making as if she was leaving. With a mock salute, and a snort, she was off, not telling him she was also attending his little soiree. Why wouldn’t she? She had a reason to be there, she was of just a high enough rank to have the right to go, that and if she wanted, she could pull the bloodline card, but she hated having to pull that card. It was a weak trump card to play, in her opinion, but whatever, it got her the places she needed to go when she needed it. Nataio better appreciate the lengths she went through to show up to this thing, or so help help her, she’d probably punch him. 

She even got a whole new dress and everything for this shebang. 

Well, she knew her effort paid off the moment he laid his eyes on her. The slight brow raise, eyes widening, and the smile he got sure did wonders to make her flush. He wore that same smile sweeps ago when they attended a royal gala together, and she acted like a proper little noble girl. Now, it felt more genuine in her eyes. Happy to see her, and not the Noble Blood persona she was fronting for the evening to show she could live up to her colour. 

Though, she was honest with herself, she knew she could have dated him long ago, on planet, if she would have just kept her mouth shut, her head down, and been what was expected of her- But that wouldn’t have made her happy, and given Nataio a false idea of who she was. It would have just been bad all around if she had done that. Broken hearts were a much more likely happening if that had transpired. She was happy she had kept to who she was. He at least got a good friend and some good laughs out of knowing the local fish out of water.

The whole thing went off with out a hitch. 

The speeches had been spoken, the whole deal was in full swing, and Cate was working on pulling Nataio away from the ceremony. It honestly didn’t even technically take that much convincing on her part. Nataio did not want to deal with all of these trolls who were quietly already plotting his downfall, or giving him cold glares for his rapid rank rising at such a young age. He simply wanted to pull the uniform’s outer jacket off, and have a glass of something strong, and forget about the stress he was to be facing as an Admiral now. Which is what exactly what Cate was offering.

Giving the ball a glance, and biting the inside of his lip. It’s a split decision, then and there. Looking back a her, with a grin that was Nataio’s brand of Mischievous, he motions for her to lead the way, quietly departing with out a second thought. The pair of them do slip out almost unnoticed, except for a few older, more keen eyes. Among those eyes was Athena, who was holding her hand out to some one. Said some one plopped several caegers into her hand, and she pocketed them with a hum. It was good to be a winning party.

Sneaking away had obviously gotten the pair of them into deep rumour territory, but it’s not like it mattered now. 

They got back to Nataio’s quarters with out much of a problem. The pair of them were laughing quietly, not a damn care in the world. It was just them, and the bottle of booze Cate pulled out from the hiding place from earlier. Nataio almost went to get glasses for them, but Cate rolled her eyes, grabbing him, and pulling him down right onto couch instead. She set the tone of how they were going to interact by opening the bottle and drinking straight from it- Which she almost choked on the liquor, considering she had been on the wagon for several sweeps now. 

Her tolerance probably wasn’t what it used to be. Exhaling through her nose, she hands Nataio the bottle- who, surprisingly, with out hesitation on his part, mimics what she had just done. A swig straight from the bottle, before passing it back. Boy had some balls, she’d give him that, and he could drop the pretentious rich boy act real quick if prompted. She had to give him some major props for actually following along with her bad behavior. And his obvious tolerance for liquor. Boy didn’t even flinch at the taste. 

It was then they got to talking, reminiscing about their lives on planet, their jobs, whatever topic came up, really. Hecate recalled her first sweeps in the fleet, and the fights she got into, Taio being wholly unsurprised she had gotten into so many altercations. It surprised him more to find out she had actually turned that whole deal around, and was now one of the more popular amongst the fleet personnel. Well. Only a little surprised. More so jealous. She was always able to be a crowd pleaser, and a favorite, wherever she went, almost flawlessly at times, even among a crowd she thought she didn’t belong. 

It was one of the few things Nataio wished he was capable of, to her extent. Oh well. All that mattered was right here, and now. He could analyze, pick himself and Cate apart, at a later date. For now, he just wanted to enjoy her company, with out prying eyes, judging stares, or nosy subordinates.

Between swigs, Nataio ditched his Admiral’s jacket, rolling up his sleeves to the elbow, and had even kicked off his shoes. Cate was content with her own heels kicked off onto the floor, and legs pulled daintily under herself. Even so, their bodies were angled towards one another, interested in the conversation, and each other. With each story, or comment, or smarmy remark, it seemed they were getting closer. 

Maybe it was the booze, or maybe it was the fact they had loosened up, and were actually talking again, that had spurred on Nataio’s almost blurted question. 

The one that had been on his tongue for months now, the thing that he had been dying to ask, yet couldn’t find the courage until now to say;

“Do you still love me?”

The question in of itself made Cate pause, mid lift of the bottle, her face going stark pink. 

Slowly lowering the bottle down, and onto the floor, she clears her throat, rubbing her arm in that tell tale way of hers. She didn’t know if she wanted to answer that- what if it was just a test, or if it was the booze talking. However, she couldn’t say what she wanted to, instead, she ended up looking up at him, a small sheepish smile worming it’s way onto her face. His- well, his stare wasn’t cold, not at the moment, it was warm, inquisitive, the same eyes she had fallen in love with back on planet when she had seen him so invested in history. 

Fuck it, she decides that she’s going to answer, opening her mouth to do so- but, before she’s even got a word out, Nataio’s hand is cupping her cheek. He closes the distance, pressing his lips gently against hers, tentatively, as if testing the waters, before pulling back. Much to her dismay, she had returned that gentle peck of the lips. Staring at him, her face flushed as equally bright as his, she closes the distance again.

This time it’s a none too chaste, or a none to gentle peck. It was passionate, speaking every word she couldn’t say to him. Before either of them realize it, Nataio is on his back on the couch, and Cate is firmly on top of him, their arms around one another as they made out in a way akin to love-lorn teenagers. As frisky as teenagers too, if the wandering hands between both parties was any indication.

It was only when they broke again, that both of them realized their position. 

Hecate was apologizing profusely, and quietly, as she moved back- only to be caught by the hand, and pulled back with a gentle tug. She gives Nataio a curious look, eyes widened and eyebrows lifted upwards. Where was the shy young boy from all those sweeps ago? She couldn’t even hold his hand back then with out him flushing, but now…It seemed like he was all to alright with the idea of a one night stand…Or did he even see it as a one night stand? Was he drunk? Oh lords above she hoped he wasn’t drunk she’d feel even worse about the kissing in the morning.

“…I do not recall making any complaints about how our position…I was quite enjoying myself…No need to apologize, Cate.”

“Oh.-” A pause. “But-…I…I mean…I thought you…Didn’t like me? Not like this, not romantically- just kinda of as an annoying student-”

“That is not even slightly true, Cate…”

“Then tell me what the hell is true.” Comes her frustrated reply, as she clings to him, uncertainty lacing her voice.

A soft sigh, and a then a chuckle leaves Nataio, as he sits up, his hands resting idly at the smaller fish’s waist. Oh boy. This was going to be a long night…Well…They still had about a half of a bottle of bourbon…Ah, hell, time to make the most of it. Reaching up, he brushes a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, and presses his lips against her forehead. It was a comforting gesture, something he had seen Athena do on many occasions, and do to him as well. 

Hopefully it would make her obvious nerves relax so they could talk about this, finally.

“For starters, you did not let me ever respond to your confession; I feel the same way for you.”

“O-Oh….” 

“Yes, Oh. Now where do you wish for me to begin?”

“….When did you realize?”

“Hmmm…I think it was…-”

From there on out, they spent the night talking, and come morning, the two of them were sound asleep in each others arms. Booze was a wonderful barrier breaker, and an even better motivator for a heart to heart.


End file.
